JP2010211439A - Character output device and program - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To align the directions of characters between pages in output processing of a document including the pages different in size. <P>SOLUTION: The directions of respective characters in a page to be processed are identified based on character commands (S112-S140), a total sum of information about the directions of the respective characters is identified (S142), and the direction of the top of the characters in the page as a whole is identified (S144). If the directions of the tops of the characters are different among respective pages, setting is made to turn a page (S150-S152). Even if the document includes the pages different in size, the drawing directions of characters can be surely aligned in a fixed direction since processing is carried out for each page. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2010,JPO&INPIT

Description

  The present invention relates to a character output device and a program.

  When printing processing is executed in an image forming apparatus such as a printing apparatus, there are cases where paper sizes and paper placement methods are mixed. That is, there are cases where drawing on a plurality of different sizes of paper is specified in the same document.

  As a countermeasure, Patent Document 1 proposes a mechanism for obtaining an output result in which post-processing is appropriately performed even when the image forming apparatus accepts a printing process in which a plurality of paper sizes are mixed. As an example, when multiple paper sizes are mixed, long side binding, short side binding, paper portrait format (a mode in which the paper is used in portrait orientation), and landscape format (paper in portrait orientation) are used. The combination is used to control the rotation so that the orientation is correct when the back surface rotates.

Japanese Patent No. 3840257

  An object of the present invention is to provide a mechanism that can align the direction of characters between pages in a certain direction.

  According to the first aspect of the present invention, for each processing target area in the processing target page, a character direction specifying unit that specifies a character drawing direction, a character drawing direction specified by the character direction specifying unit, and an output medium direction A character output device comprising: a character rotation determination unit that determines whether or not the processing target page needs to be rotated based on the relationship; and an output unit that performs an output process based on a determination result of the character rotation determination unit.

  According to a second aspect of the present invention, in the first aspect of the invention, the character direction specifying unit specifies a character direction in the character coordinate system based on a character drawing command in the processing target area. The drawing direction of characters in the processing target area is specified.

  According to a third aspect of the present invention, in the first aspect of the present invention, when there are a plurality of characters in the processing target area, the character direction specifying unit stores information on the direction of each character in the processing target area. Based on the sum, the drawing direction of the character as a whole area is specified.

  According to a fourth aspect of the present invention, in the first aspect of the present invention, the character direction specifying unit may include a plurality of consecutive characters when the character drawing command indicates the continuation of the plurality of characters. The direction of any one of the characters is specified, and the drawing direction as a whole of a plurality of continuous characters is specified by adding the number of continuous characters to the information of the direction.

  The invention according to claim 5 is the invention according to any one of claims 1 to 4, further comprising an area designating unit that accepts designation of the processing target area.

  The invention according to claim 6 is the invention according to any one of claims 1 to 5, wherein the character direction information specified by the character direction specifying unit is stored in association with the processing target area. A character direction storage unit, and the character rotation determination unit determines whether or not the processing target page needs to be rotated based on the character direction information read from the character direction storage unit.

  According to a seventh aspect of the invention, in the first aspect of the invention, in the case of the output instruction in which the information for specifying the character direction is attached, the character rotation determining unit follows the attached character direction. The necessity of rotation of the processing target page is determined.

  The invention according to claim 8 is the character attached to the output of the invention according to any one of claims 1 to 6 in which the information specifying the character direction is attached. The necessity of rotation of the processing target page is determined based on the output result when the necessity of rotation of the processing target page is determined according to the direction and the relationship between the character drawing direction specified by the character direction specifying unit and the orientation of the output medium. A character drawing direction comparison unit that compares output results when the character rotation determination unit determines, and the character rotation determination unit determines that the character drawing direction comparison unit determines that each output result is different. Processing is performed based on a confirmation instruction as to which output result is adopted.

  The invention according to claim 9 is a character direction specifying step for specifying a character drawing direction for each processing target area in the processing target page, a character drawing direction specified in the character direction specifying step, and an output medium direction. This is a program for causing an electronic computer to execute a character rotation determination step for determining whether or not the processing target page needs to be rotated based on the relationship.

  According to the first and ninth aspects of the present invention, it is possible to align the direction of characters between pages in a certain direction even in output processing of documents of different sizes.

  According to the second aspect of the present invention, it is possible to specify the character drawing direction more easily than the case of specifying the character direction from the image information after the character drawing process.

  According to the third aspect of the present invention, even when there are a plurality of characters in the processing target area, it is possible to align the direction of the characters in a certain direction as the entire area.

  According to the fourth aspect of the present invention, when a continuous character string drawing command is issued, the processing time is shorter than when the character direction is specified character by character.

  According to the fifth aspect of the present invention, it is possible to accept user designation of the processing target area.

  According to the sixth aspect of the present invention, it is possible to align the direction of characters between pages in a certain direction even in the case of output processing of a stored document.

  According to the seventh aspect of the present invention, when there is a user designation in the character direction, it can be processed according to the instruction.

  According to the eighth aspect of the present invention, when there is a user designation in the character direction, even if there is a discrepancy in the output results between the processing according to the instruction and the processing according to the first to sixth aspects, Processing according to the intention is possible.

1 is a diagram illustrating a configuration example of a printing system. It is a figure explaining the problem of a character drawing process. It is a figure which shows the structure of the image process part of 1st Embodiment (1st structural example). It is a figure which shows the structure of the image process part of 1st Embodiment (1st structural example). It is a figure explaining the basic operation | movement of a character direction specific | specification part. It is a figure explaining the method of determining the celestial direction of a character. It is a figure explaining operation | movement of a vector component process part. FIG. 10 is a diagram for explaining the operation of a matrix component processing unit 434. It is a figure explaining contrast of vector component processing and matrix component processing. It is a figure explaining operation | movement of a character rotation determination part. It is a flowchart explaining the whole operation | movement of the image processing part of 1st Embodiment. It is a figure which shows the structure of the image process part of 2nd Embodiment. It is a figure explaining the basic operation | movement of an area | region designation | designated part. It is a figure explaining the 1st structural example and operation | movement of an area | region designation | designated part. It is a figure explaining the 2nd structural example and operation | movement of an area | region designation | designated part. It is a figure explaining the 3rd structural example and operation | movement of an area | region designation | designated part. It is a flowchart explaining the whole operation | movement of the image processing part of 2nd Embodiment. It is a figure which shows the structure of the image process part of 3rd Embodiment. It is a figure explaining operation | movement of a weighting process part. It is a flowchart explaining the whole operation | movement of the image processing part of 3rd Embodiment. It is a figure which shows the structure of the image process part of 4th Embodiment. It is a figure explaining the redrawing process of the character using a character direction memory | storage part. It is a flowchart explaining the whole operation | movement of the image processing part of 4th Embodiment. It is a figure which shows the structure of the image process part of 5th Embodiment (1st structural example). It is a figure which shows the structure of the image process part of 5th Embodiment (2nd structural example). It is a figure explaining operation | movement of a character drawing direction comparison part. It is a flowchart (1st example) explaining the whole operation | movement of the image processing part of 5th Embodiment. It is a flowchart (2nd example) explaining the whole operation | movement of the image processing part of 5th Embodiment. It is a block diagram which shows the structural example when comprising a character output device using an electronic computer.

  Hereinafter, embodiments of the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the drawings.

  The character output device may be an image forming device (so-called printing device) configured to print characters on a print medium such as paper or an OHP (Over Head Projector) sheet, or may be a liquid crystal or a CRT (cathode ray tube). It may be a display device that displays characters on a display medium. In the following, a printing system that uses a printing apparatus as a character output apparatus will be described as an example.

<System configuration>
FIG. 1 is a diagram illustrating a configuration example of a printing system. In the printing system 1 of the present embodiment, the host side device 2 and the printing device 3 are connected by a transmission path 9 which is an example of a communication unit. The printing apparatus 3 may be a single function machine (so-called printer) having only a printing function, or may be a so-called multifunction machine having not only a printing function but also other functions such as copying and FAX.

  The host-side device 2 creates and outputs document data including characters, graphics, and photographs. For example, a personal computer (personal computer) is used. Document data including characters, graphics, and photographs created by the host-side device 2 is sent to the printing device 3 as print data (PDL data) described in PDL (Page Description Language). PDL data is data that can handle images (photos, images), figures (graphics), characters, and the like in the same manner, and can freely control enlargement, rotation, deformation, etc. of the figures and characters.

[Host side device]
The host-side device 2 functions as an interface between the data acquisition unit 210 that generates image data such as documents and graphics, the central control unit 220 that controls the operation of each unit of the host-side device 2, and the printing device 3. It has an interface unit 230 (IF unit).

  In the data acquisition unit 210, for example, an application program for generating data such as a document or a graphic is incorporated. Note that the data acquisition unit 210 may take in data generated externally and use it for printout.

  The central control unit 220 incorporates an OS (operating system) that is software for controlling the entire host-side device 2 and a printer driver PD that is software for controlling the printing device 3.

  Thereby, the host side apparatus 2 implement | achieves the apparatus which issues a printing instruction | indication with respect to the printing apparatus 3 by software based on a program. That is, a program is read from a CD-ROM or the like storing a program for configuring each functional unit and installed in a hard disk device (not shown), and the central control unit 220 is configured by reading the program from the hard disk device. Each function is realized in software by a CPU (Central Processing Unit) and MPU (Micro Processing Unit) executing predetermined processing procedures.

  The hardware, various devices, and various software in the host-side device 2 are controlled and managed by the operating system OS. An application program operates under the control and management by the operating system OS. The application program instructs to print characters and images. Here, it is assumed that the content to be printed is output as drawing information described in a page description language.

  For example, a drawing command having a command type such as an image drawing command, a graphic drawing command, or a font drawing command is sequentially input to the printer driver PD from an application program incorporated in the host-side device 2.

  The printer driver PD is normally provided with the printing apparatus 3 and is a program that is loaded into the host side apparatus 2 and functions. The printer driver PD is usually used to make the host side apparatus 2 correspond to various data formats expected to be used in a specific printing apparatus 3. When the printer driver PD receives the drawing information from the application program, the printer driver PD executes various processing steps before transmitting the drawing information to the printing apparatus 3. For example, the drawing information received from the application program is converted into a command and drawing object string that can be interpreted by the printing apparatus 3 and transmitted.

  In the present embodiment, the printer driver PD converts the drawing command into PDL data as a print command understandable by the printing apparatus 3 and outputs the PDL data to the interface unit 230. The print command input to the interface unit 230 is transmitted to the printing apparatus 3 through the transmission path 9 (connection cable or network). The printing apparatus 3 prints an image on a sheet (image output) according to the received PDL data.

[Printer]
The printing apparatus 3 is an example of an image output apparatus, and executes printing processing based on print data (PDL data) output from the host side apparatus 2. Here, the print data created by PDL is composed of a command and a data string in which drawing commands and data representing images, graphics, and characters at arbitrary positions in the page are arranged in an arbitrary order. The printing apparatus 3 is a page printer, which renders (draws and develops) image data for each output unit (one page) before printing, and then outputs the raster data to the printer engine unit.

  In order to realize such functions, the printing apparatus 3 includes an example of a central processing control processing unit 310, a RAM 312 (RAM: Random Access Memory), an interface unit 330, a PDL data interpretation unit 340 (interpreter unit), and an example of a drawing processing device. The image processing unit 350 is provided. The printing apparatus 3 includes a print control unit 370 (output control unit), a printer engine unit 380, an image processing unit 382, a paper feeding unit 384, a discharge unit 386, a post-processing unit 387, a printer IF unit 388, a hard disk device 390 (HDD). ).

  The central processing control processing unit 310 controls the entire printing apparatus 3. The interface unit 330 functions as an interface with the host-side device 2.

  The PDL data interpretation unit 340 is an example of a drawing command output device that interprets PDL data and passes the obtained drawing command to the image processing unit 350. The PDL data interpretation unit 340 recognizes the fetched drawing information, the sequence of the command and the drawing data, and assembles the command and the argument to interpret the command.

  The image processing unit 350 generates bitmap data (raster data) by performing graphics drawing, character drawing, and image drawing based on the interpretation command received from the PDL data interpretation unit 340. At this time, the image processing unit 350 temporarily stores the generated data in the page memory area of the hard disk device 390. For example, if color printing is performed, each color is rasterized into, for example, four planes of C (cyan), M (magenta), Y (yellow), and K (black) and stored in the page memory area of the hard disk device 390. Remember individually. Instead of securing the page memory area in the hard disk device 390, the page memory area may be secured in the RAM 312.

  The print control unit 370 is an example of an output control unit, and controls print processing by the printer engine unit 380 based on the bitmap data drawn and developed by the image processing unit 350. The printer engine unit 380 executes print processing in accordance with instructions from the print control unit 370. A printer IF unit 388 is provided between the printer engine unit 380 and the system bus. The printer engine unit 380 is an example of an image forming unit (image output unit) that forms an image on an output medium based on the data processed by the image processing unit 350.

  When performing printing, the print control unit 370 activates the printer engine unit 380 and supplies bitmap data for an output unit to the printer engine unit 380 via the printer IF unit 388.

  The printer engine unit 380 is an example of an output processing unit, and forms and outputs an image on a sheet in accordance with bitmap data supplied via the printer IF unit 388. That is, the printer engine unit 380 actually forms an image on the recording medium in accordance with the image data stored in the page memory area. The printer engine unit 380 may employ various types of recording methods such as a laser method. At this time, the image processing unit 382 may perform binarization processing or screen processing.

  Although not shown, the paper supply unit 384 includes one or a plurality of paper supply trays, and stores paper that is an example of a print medium supplied to the printer engine unit 380.

  Although not shown, the discharge unit 386 includes a discharge tray for discharging sheets after the printing process is executed by the printer engine unit 380. When receiving the rotation instruction together with the rotation angle from the print control unit 370, the discharge unit 386 rotates the sheet at the rotation angle according to the instruction and then discharges the sheet.

  When a post-processing instruction is attached to the print instruction, the post-processing unit 387 performs post-processing according to the instruction. As “post-processing”, for example, stapling is performed on the output paper by a stapler (the paper is short-sided and long-sided), or punching is performed to punch holes on the short side or long side of the paper. and so on.

  The hard disk device 390 is an example of a nonvolatile storage medium. The hard disk device 390 not only stores raster data generated by the image processing unit 350 but also draw objects and drawing calculation instructions (summary) interpreted and converted by the PDL data interpretation unit 340. And also serves as an example of a data storage unit.

<Problems of character drawing processing and principle of improvement method>
FIG. 2 is a diagram for explaining the problem of the character drawing process.

  In recent office environments, the use of creating a text combining a plurality of paper sizes has increased, and as the printing apparatus 3 becomes more sophisticated, it has become possible to perform complex post-processing (finishing processing). At this time, for example, there is a mixture of an image (referred to as a portrait image) in which characters are placed in a normal state with the paper placed vertically and an image (referred to as a landscape image) in which the characters are placed in a straight state with the paper placed horizontally. For example, an output process of a mixed size document may be instructed. In this case, a case where the output direction does not match (the drawing direction of the output result is different) may occur. “Drawing direction” means the direction in which a person can read characters properly (in a normal state).

  For example, FIG. 2 (1) is a case in which the output of a document (original) composed of two pages, the first page being A4 and a portrait image, the second page being A3 and a landscape image, is instructed. In the paper feed unit 384, A4 size paper is stored in the first paper feed tray so that it can be fed in the vertical direction, and A3 size paper is housed in the second paper feed tray so that it can be fed in the horizontal direction. It is assumed that “Vertical paper feed” is a form in which paper is fed starting from the long side of the paper, and “Horizontal paper feed” is a form in which paper is fed starting from the short side of the paper.

  In this case, the A4 document (portrait image) on the first page is output in a state where the characters are viewed straight, whereas the A3 document (landscape image) on the second page is output in a state where the characters are reversed. May end up. In other words, when a single-sided output of originals of different sizes is used, the drawing direction of the landscape image (A3 size) page may be opposite to the drawing direction of the first page.

  In FIG. 2B, a document (original) composed of four pages, that is, a portrait image of A4 for the first and second pages and a landscape image of A3 for the third and fourth pages, is stapled. ) And double-sided (long edge binding) instructions. In the paper feed unit 384, A4 size paper is stored in the first paper feed tray so that it can be fed in the vertical direction, and A3 size paper is housed in the second paper feed tray so that it can be fed in the horizontal direction. It is assumed that

  In this case, the A4 manuscript (portrait image) on the first and second pages is output with the characters facing both front and back, whereas the A3 manuscript (landscape image) on the third and fourth pages is output on the front side. In the case of (corresponding to the third page), the characters are output in a state of being viewed straight, whereas in the back surface (corresponding to the fourth page), the characters may be output in an inverted state. In other words, in landscape printing (A3 size) double-sided printing, the front and back drawing directions may be opposite.

  In order to solve this problem, it can be avoided that the user changes the setting of the printer driver. However, there is a problem that an operation for that is necessary, and there is a problem that it cannot be applied to an output form other than via a printer driver.

  In this embodiment, for each page (page), the relationship between the character drawing direction and the output medium direction (feed mode) is specified, and the output result is based on the specified result (when there is post-processing). (After post-processing), the character is rotated so that the character can be read properly and the output process is performed.

  Here, “rotate the character and perform the output process” is the first form in which the character is drawn on the output medium after the character is rotated in advance by image processing so that the character is properly read. When characters are drawn on the output medium, the printed output medium is rotated without rotating the characters, so that the characters can be read properly in the output result (after the post-processing if there is post-processing). It is meant to include any of the second forms that are oriented.

  In the first mode, before the character is actually drawn on the output medium, it is determined whether or not the drawing direction of the character on the output medium in the output result when the present embodiment is not applied is in a normal viewing state. This is a technique in which characters are rotated by image processing in advance (before actual drawing processing) when a normal viewing state is not achieved. In this method, there is no difficulty in complicating the mechanism of the discharge unit 386, but the drawing processing unit 410 requires the rotation processing unit 412.

  The second form is a method of rotating the output medium so that the drawing direction of the characters on the output medium in the output result is in the normal viewing state after the characters are drawn on the output medium as before. The determination of the necessity of rotation may be performed either before or after the character drawing. This method has a drawback that the mechanism of the discharge unit 386 becomes complicated, but the drawing processing unit 410 does not need the rotation processing unit 412.

  Further, in the second embodiment, when determining the character direction and necessity of rotation in the raster image (including the printed product) after the character drawing process, the character direction is obtained by extracting the character from the raster image and recognizing the character. A method of determining whether or not is in a normal vision state can be adopted. This method can cope with a copy original, but has a problem that the apparatus configuration and processing are complicated.

  Therefore, in the present embodiment, when the print command includes a character command, it is preferable to specify the drawing direction of each character from the interpretation result of the character drawing command in both the first and second forms. To do. Furthermore, when there are a plurality of characters in a predetermined area (the entire page or a specific area within the page), the direction of the character is specified as a whole, and finally, the direction of the character as a whole is divided into four orthogonal directions ( (Upward / downward, leftward / rightward: particularly called the celestial direction of characters). Then, it is determined whether or not the page needs to be rotated based on the relationship between the character drawing direction (here, “character celestial direction” in particular) and the feeding mode of each output medium.

<Image Processing Unit: First Embodiment>
[Device configuration]
3 to 3A are diagrams illustrating the configuration of the image processing unit 350A according to the first embodiment. Here, FIG. 3 shows a first configuration example, and FIG. 3A shows a second configuration example.

  The image processing unit 350A according to the first embodiment includes a drawing processing unit 410 that performs graphics drawing, character drawing, and image drawing, a character direction specifying unit 420, and a character rotation determination unit 440.

  The drawing processing unit 410 includes a rotation processing unit 412 that rotates a drawing image in units of 90 degrees. When the rotation processing unit 412 receives a rotation instruction together with the rotation angle from the character rotation determination unit 440, the rotation processing unit 412 performs a drawing process at the rotation angle according to the instruction.

  The character direction specifying unit 420 specifies the direction of the character as the entire predetermined area of the document based on the direction of each character. The “determined area” in the first embodiment is characterized in that it is the entire page. The character direction identification unit 420 includes a character command acquisition unit 422 and a character vector processing unit 430.

  The character code acquisition unit 422 acquires a character code in the document and passes it to the character vector processing unit 440.

  The character vector processing unit 430 includes one of a vector component processing unit 432 and a matrix component processing unit 434. The image processing unit 350A_1 of the first configuration example shown in FIG. 3 includes the vector component processing unit 432, and the image processing unit 350A_2 of the second configuration example shown in FIG. 3A includes the matrix component processing unit 434. is there.

  The vector component processing unit 432 specifies the direction of the character as a whole region by calculating and synthesizing the x direction component and the y direction component of a character vector (details will be described later) in the absolute coordinate system. On the other hand, the matrix component processing unit 434 specifies the direction of the character as a whole region by arithmetic synthesis of a 2-by-2 matrix (referred to as a font coordinate matrix) using the rotation angle θ of the character coordinate system with respect to the absolute coordinate system as a variable. To do.

[Character direction identification processing]
4A to 4A are diagrams illustrating the basic operation of the character direction specifying unit 420. FIG. Here, FIG. 4A is a diagram for explaining a character vector handled by the character direction specifying unit 420. FIG. 4B is a diagram for explaining a method of specifying the character direction as a whole based on the character vector of each character. FIG. 4A is a diagram for explaining a technique for determining the top direction of a character when drawing the character on the output medium based on the specified character direction as a whole.

  In the present embodiment, the “character vector” refers to the X-axis direction (vertical direction) and the Y-axis direction (vertical direction) in the character coordinate system (coordinate shape when the character is viewed straight) as shown in FIG. (Direction) unit vector, which is used as information for specifying the drawing direction of each character. Of the X-axis direction and the Y-axis direction, the component in the Y-axis direction is the direction in which the character is viewed. Therefore, it is preferable to use a unit vector in the Y-axis direction when it is used as information for specifying the character direction in either the X-axis direction or the Y-axis direction.

  For example, in the character coordinate form, when it is sufficient to specify which of the four orthogonal directions corresponds to the direction in which the character is viewed straight (the direction of the unit vector in the Y-axis direction), the rotation angle is 0 degree, 90 degrees. It may be noted whether the angle is 180 degrees, 180 degrees, or 270 degrees.

  The character vector processing unit 430 determines, for each page, the unit vector in the Y-axis direction of the “character vector” as the vector direction of each character for each character included in the “determined area”.

  As shown in FIG. 4 (2), the character direction specifying unit 420 specifies the vector direction for each character included in the “determined area (here, the entire page)” (FIG. 4 (2-1)). (FIG. 4 (2-2)), and the direction of the sum is further specified (FIG. 4 (2-3)). In other words, for each page of the document, the sum of the vector direction of the character drawing direction is calculated to specify the direction of the sum of the characters (particularly the end point of the sum in the Y-axis direction). When there are a plurality of characters in the processing target area (entire page or specified specific area) instead of one, the character drawing direction is specified as a whole based on the sum of the directions of the characters in the processing target area. It is.

  Further, the character direction specifying unit 420 specifies the top direction of the characters on each page of the document, as shown in FIG. 4A, based on the direction of the total sum of the specified characters. Here, there are four "character orientations": upward (upward), downward (downward), leftward (leftward), and rightward (rightward), based on the state in which the paper is placed vertically. It is specified which of the orthogonal directions corresponds to the “direction of the sum of characters”. As an example, 45 degrees to 135 degrees is upward, 135 degrees to 225 degrees is leftward, 225 degrees to 315 degrees is downward, and 315 degrees to 45 degrees is rightward. When it just matches the boundary, it may correspond to any of the corresponding.

  FIG. 4A (1) shows an A4 size state. In the case of a portrait image, since many characters will be described vertically and in a straight line, the direction of the sum of characters is considered to be within a range of 45 degrees to 135 degrees. The direction of heaven is upward.

  FIG. 4A (2) shows an A3 size state. In the case of a landscape image, since many characters will be described in a landscape orientation with a normal view, the direction of the sum of the characters is considered to be in the range of 135 degrees to 225 degrees or 315 degrees to 45 degrees. Therefore, the celestial direction of the character is right or left. Whether this is the case depends on the drawing processing and the handling of whether the A3 size portrait paper is rotated to the right and placed in the landscape orientation or the left orientation in the landscape orientation in the paper transport system. As a result, characters may be output in a reverse viewing state.

  Next, specific operations of the vector component processing unit 432 and the matrix component processing unit 434 that perform a series of processes such as “specification of character vectors” and “specification of the direction of summation of characters” will be described.

[Vector component processing]
FIG. 5 is a diagram for explaining the operation of the vector component processing unit 432.

  The vector component processing unit 432 represents the x direction component and the y direction component of the character vector in the Y axis direction of each character in the absolute coordinate system (x, y coordinate system) by (x, y), and the x direction component and y The direction of the character as a whole area is specified by performing arithmetic synthesis (simple addition processing may be used) separately from the direction component. That is, the direction of the end point of the sum of the character vectors in the Y-axis direction is specified.

  For example, when the rotation angle of the character coordinate system with respect to the absolute coordinate system (x, y coordinate system) is 0 degree (FIG. 5 (1)), the character vector is (0, 1), and the rotation angle is 90 degrees (FIG. 5). (2)) the character vector is (-1, 0), the rotation angle is 180 degrees (FIG. 5 (3)), the character vector is (0, -1), and the rotation angle is 270 degrees ( The character vector in FIG. 5 (4)) is assumed to be (1, 0).

  A page as shown in FIG. 5 (5) in which four characters are described, in which the rotation angle of three characters “A, B, C” is 0 degree and the rotation angle of one character “1” is 90 degrees. When processing, the direction of characters as the entire area (the entire page) is “(0, 1) + (0, 1) + (0, 1) + (− 1, 0) = (− 1, 3) ”.

  The tangent (tangent) indicated by (−1, 3) is “3 / −1 = −3”, the y component is “positive”, and the size is “1” or more. Therefore, the character direction of the entire page is specified to be upward (upward).

[Matrix component processing]
FIG. 6 is a diagram for explaining the operation of the matrix component processing unit 434.

  The matrix component processing unit 434 uses the rotation angle θ of the character coordinate system with respect to the absolute coordinate system (x, y coordinate system) as a variable, and sets the character vector (each unit vector in the X-axis direction and Y-axis direction) of each character as a font coordinate matrix. Convert to and express.

  Incidentally, in the font coordinate matrix, the x-direction component of the unit vector in the X-axis direction is the value in the first row and first column, the y-direction component is the value in the second row and first column, and the x-direction component of the unit vector in the Y-axis direction. Is the value of the first row and the second column, and the y-direction component is the value of the second row and the second column.

  The matrix component processing unit 434 specifies the direction of the character as a whole region by calculating and synthesizing the font coordinate matrix of each character. At this time, the matrix component processing unit 434 calculates the sum of the unit matrix components (font coordinate matrix) in the font coordinates, and calculates in which direction the vector to the end point of the sum of the unit vectors in the Y-axis direction is directed.

  For example, when the rotation angle of the character coordinate system with respect to the absolute coordinate system (x, y coordinate system) is 0 degrees (FIG. 6 (1)), the font coordinate matrix is MX_0, and the rotation angle is 90 degrees (FIG. 6 (2)). ) Is MX_90, the font coordinate matrix is 180 degrees (FIG. 6 (3)), and the font coordinate matrix is MX_180, and the rotation angle is 270 degrees (FIG. 6 (4)). Is MX_270.

  Then, as shown in FIG. 6 (5) in which four characters are described, in which the rotation angle of three characters “A, B, C” is 0 degree and the rotation angle of one character “1” is 90 degrees. When a page is a processing target, the font coordinate matrix as the entire area (the entire page) is as shown in Expression (1) shown in FIG.

  Here, the sum of unit vectors in the Y-axis direction is shown in the second column. In this example, the x-direction component (value of the first row and the second column) is “−1”, and the y-direction component (value of the second row and the second column) is “3”. Therefore, the tangent is “3 / −1 = −3”, the y component is “positive”, and the size is “1” or more, and therefore corresponds to 45 to 135 degrees. The character direction as a whole is specified to be upward (upward). Naturally, the same result as in the case of [vector component processing] described in FIG. 5 is obtained.

[Contrast between vector component processing and matrix component processing]
FIG. 6A is a diagram illustrating a comparison between vector component processing and matrix component processing. In the previous example, in the character coordinate form, the case where the characters are arranged in an orthogonal relationship (rotation angle θ is 0 degrees, 90 degrees, 180 degrees, 270 degrees) is shown, but the rotation angle θ may be arbitrary. In this case, a relationship as shown in FIG. 6A is established between the vector component processing and the matrix component processing by a 2-by-2 determinant using a sine element (sin θ) and a cosine element (cos θ) of the rotation angle θ. have.

  Here, when the vector component processing by the vector component processing unit 432 and the matrix component processing by the matrix component processing unit 434 are compared, as shown in FIG. 6A, the celestial direction of the character is specified by either method. . However, although the former is simple in arithmetic processing but requires two variables, the latter may be one variable (rotation angle θ), but there is a difference that the arithmetic processing becomes complicated. It is not possible to determine which is better.

[Character rotation direction determination processing]
FIG. 7 is a diagram for explaining the operation of the character rotation determination unit 440. The character rotation determination unit 440 determines whether or not it is necessary to rotate the character for each page based on the relationship between the “direction of the top of the character” specified by the character vector processing unit 430 and the direction of the feeding direction of each output medium. To do. The relationship between the total vector direction for all characters and the paper feed direction, that is, how the "total vector direction for all characters" is drawn on the fed paper and how it is drawn between pages That is, the necessity of character rotation for each page is determined based on whether or not there is a relationship.

  For example, the character rotation determination unit 440 determines whether or not “the direction of the top of the character” that is the determination result of the vector direction of each page matches. If the orientations between pages do not match, any page is rotated and printed. Basically, pages that are not in the normal viewing state are rotated so that the characters are in the normal viewing state in the output product.

  For example, FIG. 7 (1) shows a state where the first embodiment is not applied. In the case where the output of a document (original) composed of two pages, in which the first page is A4 and a portrait image, the second page is A3 and a landscape image, the A4 original (portrait image) of the first page is designated. ) Is output in a state in which the characters are viewed straight, whereas in the A3 document (landscape image) on the second page, the characters are output in an inverted state.

  On the other hand, FIG. 7B shows a state when the first embodiment is applied. The character vector processing unit 430 specifies that characters are output in an inverted state in the A3 document (landscape image) on the second page. Therefore, the character rotation determination unit 440 instructs the rotation processing unit 412 or the print control unit 370 of the drawing processing unit 410 to rotate the second page. Receiving this instruction, the rotation processing unit 412 performs a drawing process at a rotation angle according to the instruction. Upon receiving this instruction, the print control unit 370 controls the discharge unit 386 so that the sheet is rotated after being rotated at a rotation angle according to the instruction and then discharged. As a result, even if the paper sizes are different, an output result is obtained in a state where characters are viewed from any page.

[Processing Procedure: First Embodiment]
FIG. 8 is a flowchart for explaining the overall operation of the image processing unit 350A of the first embodiment.

  When receiving the print data (PDL data) from the host-side device 2, the printing device 3 temporarily stores the data in the hard disk device 390 or the RAM 312, that is, spools the processing data (S110).

  The PDL data interpretation unit 340 sequentially fetches and interprets spooled data. At this time, the PDL data interpretation unit 340 determines whether or not the command is a character command (character command: character drawing command) (S112). The PDL data interpretation unit 340 passes all character commands to the character command acquisition unit 422 of the character direction identification unit 420.

  As described above, the character vector processing unit 430 specifies the vector direction of the character coordinate system for each character command by the vector component processing unit 432 or the matrix component processing unit 434 (S134). This process is continued until completion for all character commands (S140).

  When the vector direction is specified for all the character commands (S140-YES), the character vector processing unit 430 specifies the sum of the vector directions for all characters (S142).

  The character vector processing unit 430 specifies which of the four “directions of the celestial character” corresponds to the direction of the sum of the vector directions of all characters (S144).

  The character rotation determination unit 440 determines whether or not it is necessary to rotate the character for each page based on the relationship between the “direction of the top of the character” specified by the character vector processing unit 430 and the direction of the feeding direction of each output medium. To do. Specifically, it is determined whether or not the “top direction of characters” on the previous page is the same as the “top direction of characters” on the current page (S150). If they are not the same, the character rotation determination unit 440 sets to rotate the corresponding page (S152). Thereafter, the rendering processing unit 410 performs rendering processing on the corresponding page (S170).

  The image processing unit 350 confirms whether there is a remaining page (S178). If there is a remaining page (S178-YES), the process returns to step S112 to execute the process for the next page.

  As described above, in the first embodiment, in the pre-process for performing the drawing process indicated by the dotted line in FIG. 8, the top direction of the corresponding page is specified, and if there is a difference in the direction from the previous page, the page is rotated. Enable the setting. The direction of the top of the sentence is determined for the entire page, and the characters are viewed in any page on the output result.

  Therefore, the orientation of the top of a document composed of a plurality of paper sizes is automatically determined and discharged without user operation. Even in the case where the user cannot determine the actual drawing direction of the original, the possibility that the directions of characters are not aligned is eliminated. Even if there is no user setting related to “character direction” in the printer driver, the characters on each page are surely viewed. Even if editing operations such as rotation are performed on the character drawing command, the correct orientation is specified, and the characters on each page are surely viewed.

  Since various processes are performed based on the character command, graphics (graphic) and image (photo / image) commands are skipped, and the character drawing command is not rasterized and only the metric information is calculated. Compared to processing after rasterizing based on a character drawing command or processing after reading characters on an output medium, the overall processing is considered to be simple and light.

<Second Embodiment>
[Device configuration]
FIG. 9 is a diagram illustrating a configuration of the image processing unit 350B of the second embodiment. Here, an example of application to the first embodiment (first configuration example) shown in FIG. 3 is shown, but the same applies to the first embodiment (second configuration example) shown in FIG. 3A. .

  The image processing unit 350B of the second embodiment is characterized in that it includes an area designating unit 500 based on the image processing unit 350A_1 of the first embodiment. The area designation unit 500 receives the designation of the processing target area in the character direction identification unit 420 and notifies the character direction identification unit 420 (the character command acquisition unit 422). The character direction specifying unit 420 does not set the entire page as the processing target region, but performs the same processing as that of the first embodiment on the characters in the processing target region notified from the region specifying unit 500.

  In addition, as shown by a dotted line in the figure, a switching unit 510 that switches whether to enable or disable the area specifying function by the area specifying unit 500 is provided to process the entire page as a processing target area or a part thereof. The target area may be used (switched) depending on the application.

[Area specification processing]
FIG. 10 is a diagram for explaining the basic operation of the area designating unit 500. The area designating unit 500 accepts designation of the processing target area in advance as a mask area, a rectangular area, or the like, thereby processing only the characters in the area characterized by the document (page) with respect to the character direction specifying unit 420. Instruct to target. As the area designating means, as will be described later, a PDL or a user interface screen is used.

[Area designation processing: first configuration example]
FIG. 11 is a diagram for explaining a first configuration example of the area designating unit 500 and its operation. The area designating unit 500_1 of the first configuration example uses PDL as an area designating unit. In this case, the area designating unit 500_1 stores the designated area as a PDL and reads it for area determination when processing the document.

  Here, “accumulate specified area as PDL” means that data created on the host side apparatus 2 (client) side is stored in the hard disk apparatus 390 as a command indicating a mask area or a rectangular area.

[Area designation processing: second configuration example]
FIG. 11A is a diagram for explaining a second configuration example of the area designating unit 500 and its operation. The area specifying unit 500_2 of the second configuration example is a first example in which a user interface screen is used as an area specifying unit. In this first example, the area designating unit 500_2 accepts designation of the designated area on the user interface of the printing apparatus 3 or the remote user interface on the host side apparatus 2, and in the same way as in the first example, the hard disk is stored in advance as PDL data. Accumulated in the device 390. Then, when the document is processed, the information is read for area determination.

[Area designation processing: third configuration example]
FIG. 11B is a diagram for explaining a third configuration example of the area designating unit 500 and its operation. The area specifying unit 500_3 in the third configuration example is a second example in which a user interface screen is used as an area specifying unit. This second example is different from the first example (second configuration example) in that a selection menu for a designated area is displayed and a selection by the user is accepted. Others are the same as the first example (second configuration example).

[Processing Procedure: Second Embodiment]
FIG. 12 is a flowchart for explaining the overall operation of the image processing unit 350B of the second embodiment.

  In the second embodiment, when the area designating unit 500 accepts designation of a processing target area, the character direction specifying unit 420 is different from the first embodiment in that it follows the instruction. Others are the same as in the first embodiment.

  Therefore, in the second embodiment, the character vector processing unit 430 determines whether or not the character command is within the designated area received by the area designating unit 500 (S120). Only for the character commands in the designated area (S120-YES), the vector component processing unit 432 or the matrix component processing unit 434 specifies the vector direction of the character coordinate system for each character command as described above. (S134). Hereinafter, it is the same as that of 1st Embodiment.

<Third Embodiment>
[Device configuration]
FIG. 13 is a diagram illustrating a configuration of an image processing unit 350C according to the third embodiment. Here, although shown in the application example to 1st Embodiment (1st structural example) shown in FIG. 3, it can apply similarly also to 1st Embodiment (2nd structural example) and 2nd Embodiment. .

  The image processing unit 350C of the third embodiment is characterized in that the character direction specifying unit 420 includes a weighting processing unit 438 based on the image processing unit 350A_1 of the first embodiment.

  In the case of a command that designates a character string continuously, the vector component processing unit 432 and the matrix component processing unit 434 specify the vector direction for only one of the consecutive character strings (for example, the first character). The result is passed to the weighting processing unit 438. The weighting processing unit 438 specifies the vector direction for the continuous character string by weighting the “vector direction for the first character” by the number of characters based on the command that continuously specifies the character string.

[Weight processing]
FIG. 14 is a diagram for explaining the operation of the weighting processing unit 438. In the case of a command in which character strings are continuously specified, the weighting processing unit 438 calculates the vector direction for only the first character and weights the other characters by the number of characters.

  As an example, a command is defined as shown in FIG. In this example, “FONT” indicating a character drawing command, X-direction coordinates “X” and Y-direction coordinates “Y” for defining a drawing position, and a character code [CHAR] to be drawn are designated. Note that the character code [CHAR] is an ASCII code in hexadecimal notation.

  Here, when character strings are successively specified, a plurality of character codes are described in the character code portion. In this case, the X-direction coordinate “X” and the Y-direction coordinate “Y” that define the drawing position indicate the intention of drawing the first character.

  An example of a command designating a character string continuously is shown in FIG. In this example, “FONT 100 200 41 42 43”, “41” is the letter “A”, “42” is the letter “B”, and “43” is the letter “C”, so the letter “ABC” is changed. It shows drawing at the position of coordinates (100, 200).

  In this case, first, the vector component processing unit 432 knows that there are three characters in the FONT command, and therefore only determines the character “A”. The vector component processing unit 432 identifies the vector as (0, 1) by determining the character “A”, and notifies the weighting processing unit 438 of the result. Since the weighting processing unit 438 knows that there are three characters in the FONT command, the weighting processing unit 438 triples (0, 1) determined by the character “A” notified from the vector component processing unit 432.

[Processing procedure: third embodiment]
FIG. 15 is a flowchart for explaining the overall operation of the image processing unit 350C of the third embodiment.

  The third embodiment is different from the first embodiment in that in the case of a command that designates a character string continuously, the vector direction is specified only for the first character and the other characters are weighted by the number of characters. Others are the same as in the first embodiment.

  For this reason, in the third embodiment, the character direction specifying unit 420 first determines whether or not the character command is a command (referred to as a continuous character command) that consecutively specifies a character string (S130). If it is not a continuous character command, processing is performed for each character as in the first embodiment (S130-NO).

  On the other hand, when the command is a continuous character command, the vector component processing unit 432 and the matrix component processing unit 434 specify the vector direction only for the first character of continuous characters, and pass the result to the weighting processing unit 438 (S130-YES). , S136). The weighting processing unit 438 identifies the vector direction of consecutive character strings by weighting the “vector direction of the first character” by the number of characters, that is, by weighting the continuous character string by the number of characters. (S138). Hereinafter, it is the same as that of 1st Embodiment.

<Fourth embodiment>
[Device configuration]
FIG. 16 is a diagram illustrating a configuration of an image processing unit 350D according to the fourth embodiment. Here, an example of application to the first embodiment (first configuration example) shown in FIG. 3 is shown, but the same applies to the first embodiment (second configuration example) and the second and third embodiments. Applicable.

  In the fourth embodiment, when the printing apparatus 3 receives an output processing instruction from the host-side apparatus 2, the instruction is not immediately performed as in the case of confidential printing. 390) is an application example when outputting a stored document, such as when performing a print process using “accumulated print”.

  The image processing unit 350D of the fourth embodiment is characterized in that it includes a character direction storage unit 600 based on the image processing unit 350A_1 of the first embodiment. When receiving the “stored print” instruction from the host-side apparatus 2, the printing apparatus 3 once holds the processing data in the hard disk device 390 and then holds the process until there is an output instruction.

  At this time, the “process data” stored in the hard disk device 390 is preferably not the received print data (PDL data) but the data (raster image) rasterized by the drawing processing unit 410. This is because the time until the sheet is discharged after receiving the output instruction is shorter than drawing development.

  When the “process data” is stored in the hard disk device 390, the character direction specifying unit 420 specifies the vector direction (particularly, the entire direction of the processing target area), and the character direction storage unit 600 processes the accumulated process data. The vector direction information specified by the character direction specifying unit 420 is stored in the corresponding area of the hard disk device 390 in association with the target area. If the processing target area is the entire page, it may be associated with the raster image of the entire page.

[Redraw processing]
FIG. 17 is a diagram illustrating a character redrawing process using the character direction storage unit 600.

  For example, it is assumed that the document 1 of the portrait image with all pages A4 and the document 2 of the landscape image with all pages A3 are instructed to be printed in “accumulated print”.

  In the printing apparatus 3 that has received this output processing instruction, the drawing processing unit 410 performs drawing development and stores (accumulates) the raster image in the hard disk device 390. In addition, the character direction specifying unit 420 specifies the entire direction of the processing target area, and the character direction storage unit 600 stores vector direction information in association with the raster image.

  Thereafter, when the printing apparatus 3 receives an instruction to output the document 1 and the document 2 together, as a result of outputting the document 1 and the document 2 together based on the relationship between the vector directions of the document 1 and the document 2, In any document (page), the characters are viewed in a straight line.

[Processing Procedure: Fourth Embodiment]
FIG. 18 is a flowchart for explaining the overall operation of the image processing unit 350D of the fourth embodiment.

  In the fourth embodiment, in the case of a print instruction for “accumulation print”, the entire direction of the processing target area is specified, and information on the vector direction is stored in association with the processing data (raster image). It differs from the first embodiment in that vector direction information is utilized when an output instruction is received. Alternatively, it differs from the first embodiment in that raster images are stored in the hard disk device 390 for a certain period of time for all printed documents, and vector direction information is utilized when a re-output instruction is received. Others are the same as in the first embodiment. Hereinafter, the case of “accumulated print” will be described as an example.

  In the fourth embodiment, after the rendering processing unit 410 performs rendering processing on the corresponding page (S170), the print control unit 370 determines whether the print instruction is “accumulated print” (S172). If the print instruction is not “accumulated print”, the print control unit 370 immediately instructs a print process on paper as usual (S172—NO).

  If the print instruction is “accumulated print”, the print control unit 370 instructs the character direction storage unit 600 to store the processing result of the character direction specifying unit 420 in association with the processing result of the drawing processing unit 410. (S172-YES). Upon receiving this instruction, the character direction storage unit 600 stores information on the entire direction of the processing target area specified by the character direction specifying unit 420 in association with the raster image generated by the drawing processing unit 410 (S174). The drawing processing unit 410 stores (accumulates) the generated raster image in the hard disk device 390 (S186).

  When the print control unit 370 receives an instruction to collectively output a plurality of documents stored in the hard disk device 390 (S190-YES), the print control unit 370 determines the relationship between the vector directions of the documents stored in the character direction storage unit 600. Based on the same processing as in steps S150 to S152 of the first embodiment, specifically, as a result of collectively outputting each document, any result can be obtained so that the drawing directions of characters on each page are aligned. Even in the document (page), the characters are viewed in a straight line (S192).

  As described above, in the mechanism of the fourth embodiment, the mechanism of the first embodiment is applied as a pre-process of the output process in “accumulation print”. The mechanism of the first embodiment is used for matching at the time of output processing. Since the processing for specifying the vector direction of each document is completed in the process of storing the processing data (raster image) of the document, the influence of the processing speed of the preprocessing for specifying the vector direction of the document is not so much required.

<Fifth Embodiment>
[Device configuration]
19 to 19A are diagrams illustrating an image processing unit 350E according to the fifth embodiment. Here, FIG. 19 shows the configuration of the image processor 350E_1 of the first example, and FIG. 19A shows the configuration of the image processor 350E_2 of the second example. Here, an example of application to the first embodiment (first configuration example) shown in FIG. 3 is shown, but the same applies to the first embodiment (second configuration example) and the second to fourth embodiments. Applicable.

  The image processing units 350E_1 and 350E_2 of the fifth embodiment are characterized in that a character direction instruction receiving unit 700 is provided on the basis of the image processing unit 350A_1 of the first embodiment. Also, the image processing unit 350E_2 of the second example illustrated in FIG. 19A is different from the image processing unit 350E_1 of the first example in that the character direction specifying unit 420 includes a character drawing direction comparison unit 450.

  The character drawing direction comparison unit 450 applies the character drawing state of each page (entire page or specific area) when the vector direction specifying process by the character direction specifying unit 420 is applied and each page when processing is performed according to the user settings ( It is determined whether or not the character drawing states of the entire page and the specific area match. In particular, the character drawing direction comparison unit 450 determines whether or not the drawing direction of characters in the entire page or a specific area is uniform between pages. Preferably, the image processing unit 350E_2 includes a character direction storage unit 452 similar to the character direction storage unit 600.

  The fifth embodiment is an application example in the case where information specifying “character direction” is attached to print data transmitted from the host-side device 2 to the printing device 3. The character direction instruction accepting unit 700 accepts user settings relating to “character direction” included in the print data, and notifies the drawing processing unit 410 and the character direction specifying unit 420 of the information. The character direction identification unit 420 switches processing according to the presence / absence of a user setting related to “character direction”.

  For example, even when there is a user setting related to “character direction” in the printer driver, if the first embodiment is applied, processing is performed so that characters on each page are viewed straight regardless of the “character direction” of the user setting. Resulting in. This means that even if the “text direction” setting in the user settings is incorrect, the characters on each page are surely viewed straight, while the user intentionally changes the “text direction” to “front view”. Are specified in different directions, they are actually processed in a direction not intended by the user.

  In the fifth embodiment, in consideration of this point, when there is a user setting regarding “character direction”, the printing process is prioritized according to the instruction (in the case of the image processing unit 350E_1 in the first example) ) Or, when the result of applying the first embodiment is different from the “character direction”, the print processing is performed after obtaining confirmation (in the case of the image processing unit 350E_2 in the second example).

[Character drawing direction comparison processing]
FIG. 19B is a diagram for explaining the operation of the character drawing direction comparison unit 450. When the vector direction specifying process by the character direction specifying unit 420 is applied, the character drawing state of the output result is always aligned in a state where the characters are viewed from any page. On the other hand, the drawing state of the characters of the output result when the processing is performed with the user setting is the drawing processing of the drawing processing unit 410 included in the printing apparatus 3, the paper size, and the conveyance mode (horizontal paper feeding or vertical direction). Various types of things can occur depending on how to handle such as (paper feeding), back side discharge (reverse discharge), single / double side difference, and finishing (post-processing). As shown in FIGS. 19B (1) and (2) similar to the state shown in FIG. 2, the drawing direction of characters may not be aligned between pages, and as shown in FIG. 19B (3) Although the directions are aligned, the characters may be ejected in an inverted state.

  The character drawing direction comparison unit 450 determines whether or not the drawing direction of the entire page or the character in the specific area is aligned between pages when processing is performed with the user setting. When a mismatch occurs in the character drawing direction between pages, it may be determined that a mismatch occurs with the processing result by the character direction specifying unit 420. Therefore, the character drawing direction comparison unit 450 may use the determination processing result “whether it is the same as the direction of the previous page” by the character rotation determination unit 440. Specifically, the character drawing direction comparison unit 450 may determine “mismatch” when there is a page in which the character drawing direction does not match between pages.

  When the processing is performed with the user settings, the entire page or the drawing direction of the character in the specific area is in a state where the characters are viewed backwards on all pages. Not considered “mismatch”. The mechanism of this embodiment is based on the technical idea that the rotation process is performed so that the character drawing directions between pages do not match, and the character drawing directions between pages match in reverse view. This is because it is not essential to perform the rotation process.

  When the character drawing direction comparison unit 450 determines that there is a “mismatch” between the processing result of the user setting and the processing result of the character direction identification unit 420, the character drawing direction comparison unit 450 sends information to that effect to the host side device 2 side. Notify At this time, a mechanism for comparing and displaying schematic diagrams of both drawing states may be employed.

  Later, when one of the processings by applying the vector direction specifying process of the first embodiment is selected, the character direction storage unit 452 does not waste a series of processes in the character direction specifying unit 420 so far. In the same manner as the character direction storage unit 600 of the fourth embodiment, it is preferable to store information on the entire direction of the processing target area specified by the character direction specifying unit 420 in association with the page of the print data.

[Processing Procedure: Fifth Embodiment (First Example)]
FIG. 20 is a flowchart (first example) illustrating the overall operation of the image processing unit 350E according to the fifth embodiment. Here, in the first example shown in FIG. 20, when there is a user setting regarding “character direction”, priority is given to the direction in accordance with the instruction. In the second example shown in FIG. 20A, when there is a user setting regarding “character direction”, the character drawing state of the output result when processing is performed with the instruction applied, the vector direction specifying process of the first embodiment is applied. When the result is different from the “character direction”, the print processing is performed after asking for confirmation.

  The fifth embodiment is different from the first embodiment in that processing is switched according to the presence / absence of a user setting relating to “character direction”. Others are the same as in the first embodiment. In particular, the fifth embodiment (first example) differs from the second example described later in that the user setting is followed when there is a user setting.

  For this reason, in the fifth embodiment (first example), the character direction instruction receiving unit 700 determines whether or not there is a user setting regarding “character direction” in the print data (S104). When there is a user setting (S104-YES), the character direction instruction receiving unit 700 extracts the setting information and passes it to the drawing processing unit 410, and the character direction specifying unit 420 determines the vector direction of the first embodiment. Processing (up to S110 to S144) is prohibited. The character rotation determination unit 440 determines whether or not rotation is necessary according to the user setting (S150). When there is no user setting, the character direction instruction receiving unit 700 permits the vector direction specifying process of the first embodiment (S104—NO).

  As described above, in the fifth embodiment (first example), when the host device 2 (client) side can determine and designate the direction of the top of the character, the vector direction specifying process of the first embodiment is skipped. Regardless of whether or not the actual document drawing direction can be accurately determined on the client (user) side, a result in a state in accordance with the “intention” designated by the user is obtained.

[Processing procedure: fifth embodiment (second example)]
FIG. 20A is a flowchart (second example) illustrating the overall operation of the image processing unit 350E of the fifth embodiment. Here, in the second example shown in FIG. 20A, when there is a user setting regarding “character direction”, the result of applying the first embodiment is the character drawing state of the output result when processing is performed with the instruction as it is. When the character direction is different from the “character direction”, the print processing is performed after confirmation is requested.

  In the fifth embodiment (second example), even when there is a user setting, the vector direction specifying process of the first embodiment is executed, and the processing is performed with the character drawing state of the output result at that time and the user setting as it is. It is determined whether or not the drawing state of the characters of the output result at that time matches, and if they do not match, the print processing is performed after user confirmation.

  Therefore, in the fifth embodiment (second example), when the preprocessing (vector direction specifying process) in the character direction specifying unit 420 is completed, the character direction storage is performed before the drawing process (S170) by the drawing processing unit 410. The unit 452 stores the information on the entire direction of the processing target area specified by the character direction specifying unit 420 in association with the page of the print data (S160).

  The character direction instruction receiving unit 700 determines whether or not there is a user setting regarding “character direction” in the print data (S162). When there is a user setting, the character direction instruction accepting unit 700 extracts the setting information and passes it to the drawing processing unit 410, and outputs the output result to the character drawing direction comparing unit 450 of the character direction specifying unit 420 at that time. A comparison process is instructed as to whether or not the drawing state of the character of the object matches the drawing state of the character of the output result when processing is performed with the user setting.

  The character drawing direction comparison unit 450 uses the determination processing result “whether or not it is the same as the direction of the previous page” by the character rotation determination unit 440 to determine whether there is a page in which the character drawing direction does not match between pages. Is determined (S164).

  When the character drawing direction comparison unit 450 determines that the processing result of the user setting and the processing result of the character direction identification unit 420 are “match” (S164—YES), the processing is continued. When the character drawing direction comparison unit 450 determines that there is a “mismatch” between the processing result of the user setting and the processing result of the character direction identification unit 420 (S164—NO), the information to that effect is displayed on the host side device. 2 is notified to the user, and an instruction as to which output process is executed is waited for (S166).

  If the user setting is prioritized (S166-YES), that is, if an instruction for processing in the user setting is accepted, the print control unit 370 controls to perform the printing process according to the user setting (S168). When the print control unit 370 receives an instruction for processing to which the vector direction specifying processing of the first embodiment is applied (S166-NO), each document stored in the character direction storage unit 452 of the character drawing direction comparison unit 450 Based on the relationship between the vector directions, the same processing as in steps S150 to S152 is performed, so that the character is viewed in any document (page) as a result (S169).

  When passing through the system of steps S166-YES and S168, it is the same as in the fifth embodiment (first example). On the other hand, when passing through the system of steps S166-NO and S169, even if the user-specified “character direction” is specified incorrectly, the characters on each page are surely viewed. When the user intentionally designates the “text direction” to be different from the “right-viewed state”, the user does not select to go through this system, but selects to go through the system of steps S166-YES and S168. Therefore, it may be considered that the inconvenience of processing in the direction not intended by the user is actually eliminated.

<Configuration by electronic computer>
FIG. 21 is a block diagram illustrating another configuration example of the configuration for performing the vector direction specifying process and the page rotation process of the printing apparatus 3. Here, a more realistic hardware configuration of a vector direction specifying process and a character rotation control mechanism of the printing apparatus 3 constructed from a microprocessor or the like that executes software using an electronic computer such as a personal computer is shown. Yes.

  That is, in the present embodiment, the mechanism of the control mechanism of the printing apparatus 3 that performs the vector direction specifying process and the page rotation process is not limited to being configured by a hardware processing circuit, but based on a program code that realizes the function. It is realized by software using (computer). Therefore, a program suitable for realizing the mechanism according to the present embodiment by software using an electronic computer (computer) or a computer-readable storage medium storing this program is extracted as an invention. By adopting a mechanism that is executed by software, the processing procedure and the like can be easily changed without changing hardware.

  The series of vector direction specifying processing and page rotation processing described above can be realized not only by hardware or software alone but also by a combined configuration of both. When executing processing by software, a program showing the processing procedure is installed (installed) in a storage medium in a computer embedded in hardware and executed, or a general-purpose electronic computer capable of executing various types of processing is used. Incorporate and execute the program.

  A program that causes a computer to execute the vector direction specifying processing function and the page rotation processing function is distributed through a recording medium such as a CD-ROM. Further, this program may be stored in the FD instead of the CD-ROM. In addition, an MO drive may be provided to store the program in the MO, or the program may be stored in another recording medium such as a nonvolatile semiconductor memory card such as a flash memory. Furthermore, the program constituting the software is not limited to being provided via a recording medium, and may be provided via a wired or wireless communication network. For example, the program may be downloaded and acquired from another server or the like via a network such as the Internet or updated. Further, the program is provided as a file describing a program code for realizing the function of performing the vector direction specifying process and the page rotation process. In this case, the program is not limited to being provided as a batch program file, and is configured by a computer. Depending on the hardware configuration of the system, it may be provided as an individual program module.

  For example, the computer system 900 includes a central control unit 910, a storage unit 912, an operation unit 914, and other peripheral members omitted from illustration.

  The central control unit 910 includes a CPU (Central Processing Unit) and a microprocessor. The central control unit 910 is similar to the central control unit 910 that forms the center of an electronic computer whose representative example is a CPU in which functions of computation and control performed by a computer are integrated into an ultra-small integrated circuit.

  The storage unit 912 includes a ROM (Read Only Memory) that is a read-only storage unit, or a RAM that is a memory that can be read and written as needed. The ROM stores control programs for the vector direction specifying processing function and the page rotation processing function. The operation unit 914 is a user interface for accepting an operation by a user.

  The control system of the computer system 900 may be configured such that an external recording medium such as a memory card that is not shown can be inserted and removed, and can be connected to a communication network such as the Internet. For this purpose, the control system includes a memory reading unit 920 that reads information on a portable recording medium and a communication I / F 922 as a communication interface unit with the outside in addition to the central control unit 910 and the storage unit 912. It is good to make it. By providing the memory reading unit 920, the program can be installed and updated from an external recording medium. By providing the communication I / F 922, the program can be installed or updated via the communication network. The basic vector direction specifying process and page rotation process mechanism are the same as in the above embodiment.

  Here, the configuration example in which the control mechanism of the printing apparatus 3 is realized on software by a computer has been described. Specific means for each part (including functional blocks) of the control mechanism may be hardware, software, communication means, a combination thereof, or other means, which is obvious to those skilled in the art. Moreover, the functional blocks may be combined and integrated into one functional block. Also, software that causes a computer to execute program processing is installed in a distributed manner according to the combination.

  As mentioned above, although this invention was demonstrated using embodiment, the technical scope of this invention is not limited to the range as described in the said embodiment. Various changes or improvements can be added to the above-described embodiment without departing from the gist of the invention, and embodiments to which such changes or improvements are added are also included in the technical scope of the present invention.

  Further, the above embodiments do not limit the invention according to the claims (claims), and all combinations of features described in the embodiments are not necessarily essential to the solution means of the invention. Absent. The embodiments described above include inventions at various stages, and various inventions can be extracted by appropriately combining a plurality of disclosed constituent elements. Even if some constituent requirements are deleted from all the constituent requirements shown in the embodiment, as long as an effect is obtained, a configuration from which these some constituent requirements are deleted can be extracted as an invention.

  For example, in the above-described embodiment, when the print data from the host-side device 2 includes a character command, the character direction is specified based on the character command, but this is not essential. It may be configured such that the character direction and the necessity of rotation are determined after the character drawing process or by the raster image of the copy original. In this case, a known mechanism for extracting characters from a raster image and recognizing the characters may be used.

  In the embodiment, the case of character drawing in the printing apparatus 3 has been described. However, the present invention is not limited to this. For example, the mechanism of the above-described embodiment can also be applied to a case where an electronic print document is generated and displayed and output, such as an electronic document in PDF (Portable Document Format) format.

  DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 ... Printing system, 2 ... Host side apparatus, 3 ... Printing apparatus, 310 ... Central processing control processing part, 312 ... RAM, 330 ... Interface part, 340 ... PDL data interpretation part, 350 ... Image processing part, 370 ... Print control , 380... Printer engine unit, 382... Image processing unit, 384... Paper feeding unit, 386... Ejection unit, 387. Rotation processing unit 420 ... Character direction specifying unit 422 ... Character command acquisition unit 430 ... Character vector processing unit 432 ... Vector component processing unit 434 ... Matrix component processing unit 438 ... Weighting processing unit 440 ... Character rotation Determining unit, 450 ... Character drawing direction comparing unit, 452 ... Character direction storage unit, 500 ... Area specifying unit, 510 ... Switching unit, 600 ... Character direction憶部, 700 ... character direction instruction receiving section, 9 ... transmission line

Claims (9)

A character direction specifying unit for specifying a drawing direction of a character for each processing target area in the processing target page;
A character rotation determination unit that determines the necessity of rotation of the processing target page based on the relationship between the character drawing direction specified by the character direction specifying unit and the orientation of the output medium;
An output unit that performs an output process based on a determination result of the character rotation determination unit;
A character output device. The character direction specifying unit specifies a character drawing direction in the processing target area by specifying a character orientation in a character coordinate system based on a character drawing command in the processing target area. The described character output device. The character direction specifying unit, when there are a plurality of characters in the processing target area, specifies a character drawing direction as a whole area based on a sum of information on the direction of each character in the processing target area. The character output device according to 1. The character direction specifying unit specifies a direction of any one of a plurality of consecutive characters when the character drawing command indicates a continuation of a plurality of characters, and includes information on the direction. The character output device according to claim 1, wherein the drawing direction as a whole of a plurality of consecutive characters is specified by weighting the number of consecutive characters. The character output device according to any one of claims 1 to 4, further comprising: an area designation unit that receives designation of the processing target area. A character direction storage unit that stores information on the direction of the character specified by the character direction specifying unit in association with the processing target area;
The said character rotation determination part determines the necessity of rotation of the said process target page based on the information of the direction of the character read from the said character direction memory | storage part, The any one of Claims 1-5. Character output device. The character rotation determination unit determines whether or not it is necessary to rotate the processing target page according to the attached character direction when the output instruction is attached with information specifying the character direction. Character output device. In the case of an output instruction to which information specifying the character direction is attached, the output result when the necessity of rotation of the processing target page is determined according to the attached character direction and the character direction specifying unit specified A character drawing direction comparison unit that compares output results when the character rotation determination unit determines whether or not the rotation of the processing target page is necessary based on the relationship between the character drawing direction and the direction of the output medium;
The character rotation determination unit performs processing based on a confirmation instruction as to which output result is to be adopted when the character drawing direction comparison unit determines that the respective output results are different. The character output device according to any one of the above. A character direction specifying step for specifying a drawing direction of the character for each processing target area in the processing target page;
A character rotation determination step of determining whether or not the processing target page needs to be rotated based on the relationship between the character drawing direction specified in the character direction specification step and the orientation of the output medium;
A program that causes an electronic computer to execute.

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